About this Add-on

Xpunge is an extension that combines the functionality of emptying certain folders (trash and junk) and also compacting user-specified folders in a single action and for multiple accounts. This can be done with a single mouse click on a toolbar button or through a sub-menu under Thunderbird's "Tools" menu. The functionality to empty junk folders is available since version 0.5.

Xpunge can be invoked either on the currently selected account only ("Xpunge" button) or on a configurable list of multiple Thunderbird accounts ("MultiXpunge" button). There is also a separately configurable timer feature that allows the functionality offered by "MultiXpunge" to be automatically applied at regular intervals and at a specific time every day.

Xpunge works on all types of Thunderbird accounts.

ATTENTION: Compacting folders means that all the messages you have previously deleted from those folders are permanently deleted from the hard disk and cannot be retrieved again.

ATTENTION: Be careful when you use the new functionality for emptying the junk folders. It is not the same as emptying the trash folder, in the sense that messages are deleted on purpose, whereas your spam filter may put useful (non-spam) emails in the junk folder, so emptying this folder will cause you to lose those emails. Xpunge has all the new junk features turned off by default to avoid accidents. Please enable and use the junk functionality at your own risk.

ATTENTION: When you select to empty the Junk of an account, all the folders of that account that are known to Thunderbird to be "junk" folders will be emptied. For example, if you set up a Gmail IMAP account, where the junk folder is called "Spam", and you also change the settings of that account in Thunderbird to move new junk messages to a folder called "Junk", both folders will be emptied if you enable emptying the Junk for that account in Xpunge.

Developer’s Comments

ATTENTION: Compacting folders means that all the messages you have previously deleted from those folders are permanently deleted from the hard disk and cannot be retrieved again.

ATTENTION: Be careful when you use the new functionality for emptying the junk folders. It is not the same as emptying the trash folder, in the sense that messages are deleted on purpose, whereas your spam filter may put useful (non-spam) emails in the junk folder, so emptying this folder will cause you to lose those emails. Xpunge has all the new junk features turned off by default to avoid accidents. Please enable and use the junk functionality at your own risk.

ATTENTION: When you select to empty the Junk of an account, all the folders of that account that are known to Thunderbird to be "junk" folders will be emptied. For example, if you set up a Gmail IMAP account, where the junk folder is called "Spam", and you also change the settings of that account in Thunderbird to move new junk messages to a folder called "Junk", both folders will be emptied if you enable emptying the Junk for that account in Xpunge.

The two buttons offered by Xpunge do not appear on the main Thunderbird toolbar by default, you will have to add them yourself. Also, the button icons contained in the package offered here are of size 16x16 (small) and 24x24 (large) pixels. If these icons are smaller than what your current theme is using, you can find a version with slightly larger icons on Xpunge's homepage.

For usage information and more details about this extension, please visit Xpunge's homepage: